Single lobe washing machine pump



Nov. 14, 1961 F. c. BAYER 08,

SINGLE LOBE WASHING MACHINE PUMP Filed Dec. 27, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet iNov. 14, 1961 F. c. BAYER 3,008,421

SINGLE LOBE WASHING MACHINE PUMP Filed Dec. 27, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q*1 i a F w i i x 0 \k a 3 N a e 3 u w; v k a; x 51% a i- N Q 1- w E 0 S1 Q s w b 3 Q H m E! J I El k Q n hazzlzzr g g FRFINKEEFIYER Va; \mw,72m; aw/4,2 22

1951 F. c. BAYER smcus LOBE WASHING MACHINE PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledDec. 27, 1955 FRFINK [.PJHYER United States Patent 3,008,421 a SINGLELOBE WASHING MACHINE PUMP Frank C. Bayer, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor toThompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc., a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 27,1955, Ser. No. 555,487 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-83) This invention relatesgenerally to pumps and more particularly to an improved pump capable ofpumping both gaseous and liquid fluid as may' be required in use withwashing machines and the like, although other uses and purposes of theinvention will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

In the field of pumping apparatus, liquid ring type pumps have beenheretofore developed wherein separate lobes or displacement chambers areformed and require dual intake ports and dual exhaust ports. In such acase, and where compactness is of the essence, the flow passage area isdiminished due to the added material in forming the intake ports andexhaust ports. Moreover, construction of the type pump and the port plugassociated therewith is relatively complex and expensive.

In the present invention, a pump is provided which is generally of theliquid ring type but which employs only a single lobe or displacementchamber thereby requiring only one intake and one exhaust port.

More specifically, the pump of the present invention has a projectedhollow boss or body portion extending substantially axially from themain pump housing in which the. single lobe or displacement chamberislocated. Rotatably mounted in the pumping chamber of the housing is anannular bladed impeller which is drivingly connected'to a drive shaftprojecting from one end of the housing An elongated porting plug, beingsubstantially plate-shaped, extends through the hollow section andcommunicates with intake and exhaust ports formed in the hollow boss" orbody projection, thereby to carry fluid from the inlet, through thecenter of the impeller, through the lobe, and back through the portingplug to the outlet.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved pumpingapparatus for displacing fluid which may be either'gaseous, liquid orboth.

Another object of this invention is to provide a singlelobe pump of theliquid ring type.

T Still another object of this invention is to provide a single-lobepump of the liquid ring type, wherein only,

one'intake and one exhaust port is required, and wherein the port plugis constructionally simplified, and more flow passage area is available.

A further object of this invention is in the provision of a pump ofsimplified construction and having a minimum of parts, wherein. internallosses are substantially diminished thereby improving efficiency.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a pump thatisefficient in handling mixed gas or liquid and can be built at a very lowcost, therein making it especially useful in connection with washingmachines.-

' Another object 'of this invention is in the provision of a liquid ringpumpwherein noise from pumping action is'considerably reduced by theelimination of the usual double lobe, double port arrangement whichresults in the reinforcement of wave fronts due to impulses from twoexhaust ports meeting in a single outlet pipe and the provision of asingle lobe singl'eport pump.

' Stillanother'object of this invention is to lesser accelerations infollowing the contour of the lobefl.v t i Other objects, features andadvantages ofthe invention will be apparent from the following detailedde- 3,008,421 Patented Nov. 14, 1961 2 scription, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying. sheets'of drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to like parts, in which: On the drawings: FIGURE 1 is anend elevational view of a pump constructed in accordance with theprinciples of the invention and looking at the end which mounts theintake and exhaust ports;

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view with parts in elevation, takensubstantially along line IIII in FIGURE 1, and with some parts omittedfor purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along lineIII--III in FIGURE 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 isa fragmentary and broken axial sectional view taken in FIGURE1, with some parts in elevation, and taken substantially along linesIVIV;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the drive shaft end ofthe pump. 7

As shown on the drawings: 7

Referring particularly to FIGURES 2 and 4, the pump of the instantinvention comprises a pump of the liquid ring type and includesgenerally a pump housing 10, a pump cover member 11, an impeller 12, aporting plug 13, and a drive shaft 14. s

The pump housing, cover member, impeller and porting plug are molded orcast from thermoplastic or thermoseting synthetic resin, such aspolystyrene, resistant to water carried detergents, capable ofwithstanding temperatures elevated to 200 F. without distortion, andeasily shaped and fabricated as pump components within .the limits ofoperating tolerances withoutrequin'ng machining. I u

The housing 10 includes a main body portion 15 of generally cylindricalshape within which is formed a pump ing chamber 16. This pumping chamberis somewhat to provide a single-lobe liquid 'ring'type pump, whereinlesslvibration is involved because thewater or liquid ring is subjectedelliptical in shape and the impeller is placed in an eccentric positionwith respect to the chamber providing a displacement chamber 16a at theend not occupied by the impeller, as seen most clearly in FIGURE 3,which is crescent shaped and projects from the portion of the chamber 16which is occupied by the impeller 12. The body section 15 is open at oneend, at which end is carried an outstanding flange 17. An end wall 18closes the other end of the body section 15. In the end wall 18, acircular-shaped recess or bore 19 is formed for receiving in journallingengagement one end of the impeller 12. As seen in FIGURES 3 and 4, thecenter axis of the bore orvrec'ess 19 is eccentrically positioned: withrespect to the center axis of the elliptically shaped pumping chamber16.

Projecting outwardly from the housing'end wall '18 is a cylindricalhousing section 20 having a bore 20a registering with an opening ofequal size in the end wall18. Thiscylindrical housing section isdiametrically reduced from the main housing section 15, and is coaxialwith the bore 19 in the end wall 18. An end'wall 20b of disk-shapecloses off the outer. end-of the housing section 20a. Extending radiallyfrom the housing section 20 is an intakeport 21 and an exhaust port 22.Preferably, the intake port is larger than the exhaust port, and theports extend fromsubstantially diametrically opposite sides of thehousing section. 1

*The cover11 includes a plurality of stepped counterbores 23, 24, .25and 26- of progressively decreasing diameter.' A radial flange 27extends outwardly from the number of hex-head machine screws 29 (seeFIGS. 4 and 5) unite the cover 11 and the housing 10, and these screwsare extended through the apertures and the flange 27 and threadedlyreceived in the tapped bores of the enlarged portions 28. The centeraxis of all of the counterbores in the cover member 11 are coaxial withthe center axis of the bore 19 and the reducedhousing sec tion 20thereby eccentrically positions the cover member counterbores withrespect to the center axis of the elliptically shaped pumping chamber16. In fact, the counterbore 23 is of the same size and in coaxialalignment with the bore 19.

The impeller 12 comprises an annular row of circumferentially spacedvanes or blades 30 which are integrally united at their opposite sideswith a pair of axially spaced annular members 31 and 32. As seen in FIG.3, each of the vanes 30 is, tapered from the outer radial edge to theinner radial edge in such a manner to form passageways 33 between thevanes of substantially uniform cross sectional area.

As above noted, the counterbore 23 of the cover member 11 is of thesame, size as the bore 19 in the opposite end wall of the housing 15.These oppositely aligned bores 19 and 23 receive the opposite endportions of the impeller 12 in journalling. engagement therewith torotatably support the impeller in the housing. The flange 32a of theannulus 32 is sized to be received by the counterbore 24. It may benoted that the inner face of the impeller annular member '31 is alignedwith the ad-- jacent inner face of the housing section 15, while theinner face of the annular member 32 is aligned with the inner verticalface of the covermember 11.

Extending from the inner periphery ofthe impeller annulus 32 andintegral therewith is an annular flange 32a that is centrally bored at32b. However, the center bore carries circumferentially spaced andaxially extending serrations or the like which complementally engageserrations on the cylindrical surface of a cylindrical portion 34a of animpeller insert 34. The impeller insert 34 is preferably made of metal,while as already explained, the impeller is preferably made ofpolystyrene or a plastic. The impeller insert 34 carries a diametricallyreduced section 34b projecting inwardly and connected to the section 34aby a radially extending web portion 340.

This reduced rection 34b intimately receives and is drivingly connectedto a diametrically reduced portion 14a of the drive shaft 14. The shaft14 is rotatably mounted by a bearing arrangement 35 that isintimatelyreceived in the outermost counterbore 26 in the cover 11. The outermostend of the bearing 35" abuts against a shoulder 26a formed on the veryouter end of the counterbore 26 of the cover 11.

A shaft seal 36 encircles the shaft and is received within thecounterbore 25 of the cover 11. An annular flange 36a extends radiallyfrom the shaft seal 36 to abut against the shoulder formed between thecounterbores 24 and 25. 'To prevent inward axial movement along theshaft 14 of the seal assembly 36, a porous metal ring 37, preferably ofsintered brass has one face 37a abutting against a face of the sealassembly. The seal 37 is carried in a flexible cup shaped member 38 ofleather or other suitable material that is received within the enlargedend of the impeller insert 34.

To divide the fluid flow between the intake and exhaust ports and thepumping portions of the pumping chamber 16, the porting plug 13 isprovided which includes an elongated plate-shaped main body 39 extendingsubstantially diametrically across the cylindrical reduced casingsection 20 and the central bore of the impeller 12 and longitudinallyfrom the end wall 20b of the housing section 20' to the annularsupporting member 32 of the impeller 12. As seen most clearly in FIG-URE 3, longitudinal knob-shaped portions 40, 40 are integrally formed atthe opposite ends of the body section 39. The knob like portions 40 haveouter arcuate sur faces 49a which coact with the inner radial edges ofthe impeller blades 30 and the bore 20a of housing section 20. Theporting plug is stationary relative to the housing 11? and carries atthe end adjacent the intake and exhaust ports a pair of axially spacedrings 41 and 42 which are received intimately within the housing section20 in press fitting relationship. The rings-are integrally formed withthe knob like portions 40 of the porting plug and the porting plug isineffect held stationary by engagement of the rings. and reduced housingsection 20. The end of the porting plug adjacent the drive shaft isenlarged and center drilled from the outer end to freely receive thecylindrical section 34b of the impeller insert 34.

A radial flange 43 projects outwardly from the outer end of the enlargedsection and is freely received in a counterbore 32c formed in the innerface of the impeller annulus 32. The impeller insert 34 is freelyrotatable in the end bore of the porting plug. The cylindrical section3412 of the impeller insert 34 is journalled in the drilled end of theporting plug 13 and thus functionally serves to support the associatedend of the porting plug 13. The porting plug 13, serves to providecommunication between the intake port and a portion of the impeller andpumping chamber, and the exhaust port and a portion of the impeller andpumping chamber.

In operation, fluid enters the intake port 21, flows along onecommunicating side of the porting, plug, 13 and is centrifugallyimpelled radially outwardly into the pumping chamber. The fluid thencirculates through the lobe 16a and is forced to return through theimpeller to the opposite side of the porting plug 13 from where it isguidedto the exhaust port 22.

The impeller 12 is rotated by transmitting power to the drive shaft 14from any suitable source of power or prime mover. The porting plugremains stationary, however, while the porting plug 13 is shown inalignment with the major axis of the lobe 16a, it should be understoodthat slight rotation of the plug in either direction fromthis axis willnot impair the eflicient operation of the pump.

Referring now to FIGURES l, 4 and 5, a U-shaped' mounting bracket 44 isprovided for supporting the pump and mounting it on, a surface. alongitudinally extending base portion 44a paralleling the axis of thepump and having ears 44b that may be apertured for receiving mountingbolts and the like. Upwardly extending from opposite ends of the baseportion 44a are arms 44c and 44d. Near the top of the arm 44d, acircular aperture is provided which receives a rubber grommet or thelike 45 which receives therethrough a reduced portion of the covermember 11 of the pump housing which forms with an adjacent anddiametrically enlarged section an annular shoulder for seating thegrommet 45. To prevent the grommet from sliding off the end of the covermember, a split. retaining or lockingv ring 46 is received in a grooveon the. very end of the cover member to abut against the outside of thegrommet 45. The other upstanding arm 44c is provided with asubstantially square aperture near its top for receiving a substantiallysquare rubber grommet 47. The grommet 47, in turn, receives asubstantially squareshaped protrusion 20cextending from the end wall 20bof the-housing section 20, and the grommet is locked in place againstthe end wall by a split retaining ring 48. Grooves are formed'in theprotrusion 20c to receive the retaining or locking ring 48. The squareprotrusion20c, coacting with the square grommet and aperture in theupstanding leg 440 of the mounting bracket prevents the pump housingfrom rotating in its mounting.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a simply constructed,etficient, and long lived liquid ring pump has,- been provided of asingle-lobe single port: arrangement.

It will be understood that modifications andvariations novel concepts ofthe present invention.

The bracket 44 includes I claim as my invention:

1. A pump including a substantially cylindrical housing having anintegral end wall on one end thereof, a removable cover on the otherend, a reduced hollow section with a cylindrical inner support surfaceextending axially from said end wall and having diametrically opposedinlet and outlet ports extending transversely thereof, a pumping chamberin said housing, an annular impeller rotatably supported in said chamberand having a central bore communicating between impeller blades withsaid pumping chamber, said impeller positioned in said chamber ineccentric relation to an axial center line extending through saidchamber, with the area not occupied by the impeller providing adisplacement chamber, a drive shaft bearingly supported by said coverand connected to said impeller, a porting plug extending into theimpeller bore and said reduced cylindrical section, and having anelongated plate-shaped main body extending substantially diametricallyacross said impeller bore and said reduced section, means defining inletand outlet passageways from the inlet and outlet ports to said impellerand pumping chamber with said porting plug providing one wall of thepassageways, said inlet passageway intercommunicating with a firstportion of said impeller and pumping chamber and said outlet passagewayintercommunicating With a second portion of said impeller and pumpingchamber, said portions being substantially diametrically opposed, saidplug having a ring on the end supportingly fitted into said innercylindrical surface of said reduced section for supporting the plug end,and rotatable bearing means at the other end of the plug connected tothe shaft and at least partially supporting said other end. i

2. A pump including a generally cylindrical housing having a pumpingchamber therein and having a body section with end Walls attachedthereto, means for removably attaching at least one of said end Walls tosaid body section, a reduced section extending from one of said endWalls with an axially extending bore opening into said pumping chamber,means defining an inlet port opening through said reduced section andcommunicating with said bore, means defining an outlet port openingthrough said reduced section and communicating with said bore, anannular impeller rotatably supported in said pumping chamber and havinga central bore, one of said end walls being sufiiciently large forwithdrawal of the impeller from the housing, said impeller positioned insaid chamber to rotate about an axis positioned eccentn'cally withrespect to the center line of the chamber, the center line of said borein said reduced section being coaxial with the impeller axis, a driveshaft connected to the end of said impeller opposite the position ofsaid reduced section of said housing, a bearing in an end Wall of thehousing opposite said reduced section rotatably supporting said driveshaft, a stationary porting plug extending into the center of saidimpeller and removably supported at one end by the inner surface formedby said bore of said reduced section, rotatable bearing means at theother end of said plug connected to the shaft and at least partiallysupporting said other end of the plug on said shaft, said plug having anelongated plate-shaped main body extending substantially diametricallyacross said impeller bore and said bore in said reduced section, andmeans defining passageways intercommunicating the. inlet passageway witha first portion of said impeller and pumping cham' her andintercommunicating said outlet passageway with a second portion of saidimpeller and pumping chamber with said porting plug main body providingone wall of the passageways, said impeller portions being substantiallydiametrically opposed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,503,776 Weil Aug. 5, 1924 2,098,244 Hopfensberger Nov. 9, 19372,165,808 Murphy July 11, 1939 2,201,575 Corneil et a1. May 21, 19402,260,600 Boeckeler Oct. 28, 1941 2,362,954 Adams Nov. 14, 19442,364,370 Jennings Dec. 5, 1944 2,381,700 Smith Aug. 7, 1945 2,419,411Mayne Apr. 22, 1947 2,599,149 Allen June 3, 1952 2,609,139 KollsmanSept. 2, 1952 2,626,741 Osborne Jan. 27, 1953 2,658,456 Wahlmark Nov.10, 1953 2,672,277 Adams Mar. 16, 1954 2,714,485 Goettl Aug. 2, 19552,724,547 Abbott et al Nov. 22, 1955 2,785,637 Nubling Mar. 19, 1957FOREIGN PATENTS 7,768 Great Britain Apr. 27, 1911 648,731 Germany Aug.7, 1937 734,587 Germany Apr. 19, 1943 735,626 Germany May 20, 1943804,064 Germany Apr. 16, 1951

